DOMINANT CULTURE: CONCEPT, CHARACTERISTICS AND EXAMPLES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Dominant culture is an expression that is used to define that group of beliefs, practices and behaviors within a society, which are shared and followed by the majority of its members. It is a concept that is used regularly in the fields of sociology, anthropology and semiotics.

These characteristics can be ideological, religious, idiomatic, aesthetic, ethnic or of another type, which are generally perceived as a sign of belonging and identification.

Nazism was the dominant culture in Germany between 1933 and 1945, persecuting minorities. National Archives of Norway

Within the framework of a geopolitical entity, it tends to have a strong presence and influence in traditions, government, state and educational institutions, the media, law, the arts, the economy and business.

According to the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), the word "culture" refers to the set of ways of life, customs, knowledge and degree of artistic, scientific and industrial development of a society or group, in a given time.

Meanwhile, the term "dominant" comes from the Latin "domināri" and carries a prevalence or subjection of a third party.

The figure of a dominant culture also implies the existence of other minority cultures, which in many cases it tries to contain, censor or repress.

Dominant culture concept

The concept of dominant culture was developed by the Italian writer Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937), at the beginning of the 20th century. In his essays, this Marxist philosopher suggested that the models of society were imposed by a powerful hegemonic class.

In that sense, for him capitalism did not only imply an economic issue, but also included other dimensions, such as culture, art and entertainment, as forms of oppression and control.

In this way, he understood that to change society it was not enough to take the means of production and administration. In addition, a new cultural awareness had to be created and maintained.

Types of cultures

At present, in most societies it is possible to find four types of cultures: the dominant, the subcultures, the marginal and the so-called countercultures.

The dominant culture is one that manages the norms, beliefs and basic social processes, either because these are shared by the majority or because it has the economic and / or power means to impose them.

For their part, subcultures are minority groups that have beliefs and behaviors different from those of the dominant culture, with which they coexist.

Meanwhile, marginal cultures are those that, due to their small number or low position or influence, are not recognized by the hegemon as a social force.

Lastly, countercultures are movements that oppose the values, norms, and ideologies imposed by the dominant culture.

characteristics

The dominant culture of a nation is generally resilient and passed from generation to generation. In some cases, this can change over time as a result of different internal or external factors. However, when this happens, the move is usually slow and gradual.

Another of its characteristics is that it has the power to establish the social norms of the community and a great influence on values, behavior, thought and language.

For this, it has the power of the political and economic means to promote itself and ensure the uninterrupted operation of the system.

Usually, the dominant culture is imposed on individuals as part of the socialization process, through the school, parental norms, the productive system, the organs of control and repression, as well as the media.

Among its features is also that of being in a position of strength with respect to marginal cultures or subcultures, to which it usually submits. This hegemonic position can occur in relation to external cultures -in colonization scenarios- and internal, in the case of minority groups that coexist in the same society.

Examples of dominant cultures

Joseph Stalin installed socialist realism as the dominant culture of the former Soviet Union. Source: pixabay.com

European colonization

A clear example of a dominant culture was that of the European countries that invaded America and Africa at the time of the colonizations. These states carried out a cruel and brutal repression of traditional native cultures, on whose inhabitants they imposed their own customs and beliefs.

Fascism

Other recognized cases were that of Nazism in Germany and Fascism in Italy, who established the bases of their power on the foundations of a national awakening and the persecution of the rest of the minorities.

In addition to exalting the so-called "German values", Nazism sought to turn other cultures into enemies that had to be fought and exterminated, including Marxism and Judaism. Thus, spurred on by tireless propaganda, censorship, book burning, repression and violence against everything that was not "truly German" became common.

Socialism

Another case of dominant culture was the so-called socialist realism in the former Soviet Union, especially during the government of Joseph Stalin. This artistic trend, which sought to expand class consciousness and knowledge of social problems, was arbitrarily imposed in most of the countries of the socialist bloc.

WASP

Finally, another example is that of the WASP group (White, Anglo-Saxon and Protestant -white, Anglo-Saxon and Protestant-) in the United States, who historically have held political, social and economic power in that country.

This dominant culture, associated with white British descendants, upholds traditional values ​​and rejects other ethnicities, such as African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, Jews, and Catholics.

References

1. Federico Polleri. (2014). Cultural hegemony. 2017, from gramsci.org.ar Website: gramscilogias.com
2. Malinowski, B. Culture. Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences, 1931.
3. Herrera, Bernal. Culture and counterculture: peripheral observations. Costa Rica university. Digitized by Library «P. Florentino Idoate, SJ »José Simeón Cañas Central American University.
4. Manuel Fernandez Cuesta. (2013). Gramsci and the new cultural hegemony. 2017, by eldiario.es Website: eldiario.es
5. Hegemonic culture, Wikipedia. Available at: es.wikipedia.org
6. Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE). Available at: rae.es